Want to become a PMI- ACP Certified Practitioner? So, it seems that you must be using agile approaches. If you are holding good collaborative skills, and quick responses for handling complex situations. Well, your skills are in huge demand. PMI has bought you PMI-ACP certification to enhance your agile techniques, to showcase your ability to peers, higher authorities, and stakeholders. The team's adoption of agile software has increased from 37% to 86% in a year. PMI-ACP spans several agile technologies such as Scrum, Kanban, Lean, Extreme Programming (XP), and TDD- Test Driven Development. Here is the Guide for PMI- ACP Certification 2023: Everything you need to know

PMI-ACP Certification - An overview

The demand for PMI-ACP certified holders is rising constantly because organizations today want a dynamic method for reducing time. If your organization is adopting agile practices, then PMI-ACP Certification is a good choice to enhance your skills, which is part of an agile team. 

PMI-ACP Certification completion depends upon two major components, i.e. examination fee and the training cost. While the exam fee is fixed, the mode of taking the exam is flexible, it is the choice of the candidate whether to opt for online or offline mode.

Pre-requisites

Candidates must have worked in an agile team for 8 months or 1500 hours after 12 months of general project experience. These prerequisites should be done within the last 3 years.

It is not mandatory to complete 21 contact hours of training in one stretch, you can attend the sessions based upon your preferred time.

Process of undertaking PMI-ACP exam

• Once the prerequisites are seen to match, apply as per the rules of PMI.
• The application is received and reviewed by the PMI, and a response from PMI is estimated.
• Once the application gets approved, payment needs to be made for scheduling the PMI-ACP exam.
• Candidates can take up the exam within 1 year of approval of the application.
• The candidate can take up to 3 attempts to pass the certification.

PMI-ACP: Gold Standard Certification

PMI-ACP Certification is offered by Gold Standard Certification. PMI-ACP spans across many other agile approaches. An individual's skill is exhibited through their professional adaptability towards agile tools and methodologies. PMI-ACP Certification helps to understand agile practices, concepts, and approaches.

Let us look into the key features of PMI-ACP Certification offered by Gold Standard Certification:

• Live Virtual Training by Instructor
• 20+ years of experience in teaching and training
• Assists ACP application template
• LMS Access for Self-Paced Learning content designed by Industry Experts
• 21 contact hours of training
• Certification on Course completion
• 500+ practice question papers and answers

Exam fee cost for PMI ACP Certification

Here are the details for the exam fee for obtaining PMI-ACP Certification:

PMI has set different fee structures for members and non-members and it is fixed price. Exams can be taken through two modes namely, Computer Based Test (CBT) and Paper Based Test (PBT). But PBT will be provided only for certain cases.

Rescheduling of PMI-ACP exam

There is an option to reschedule the exam, but it has to be done at least 2 days before the scheduled date of the exam. Changes cant be made after that. For changing the exam dates, you will have to pay about $70, if you are changing the dates a month before the scheduled exam date. 

Proper prior planning will skip all these mishaps. Assess the question paper well in advance, to avoid any rescheduling.

Here is the list of prices for the different components of PMI-ACP Certification:

What are the suitable job roles for a certified PMI-ACP

Practitioner?

PMI-ACP Certification helps you set up the project and estimates work, cost, and schedule. Here is the list of job roles that a certified PMI-ACP Practitioner can take up:

• Scrum Master
• Agile Project Manager
• Senior Scrum Master
• Project Manager
• Technical Delivery Manager
• Technical Project Manager
• Agile Coach

Who should get a PMI-ACP Certification?

There is high demand for PMI-ACP Certification, and it is very much useful for the following professionals:

• Project Managers who employ agile methodologies in their work
• For those team members, whose organization is using agile methodology
• Managers wanting to expand their expertise in project management
• Professionals who want to adapt to changing technologies
• Managers who opt for people-driven methodology
• For any professionals seeking advancement in the career graph

What to do after PMI-ACP Certification?

Agile is a significant and profound methodology in project management. One needs to have broader business objectives for an uncertain business environment. There are different career opportunities for PMI-ACP Professionals, and they are:

• Technical Business Analyst
• Agile Trainer
• Project Manager
• PMP Scrum master
• Deputy Project Manager
• Business Analyst
• Digital Channel Planner
• Director in Project Management
• Agile Project Manager

PMI-ACP is an intermediate-level certification that covers several other aspects. So learning the framework of Agile will help you to shoot up your career graph.

How to update the PMI-ACP Certification?

The expiration of your PMI-ACP Certification is 3 years, and to keep the certification updated you must complete the Continuous Certification Requirement (CCR) which includes 30 PDUs. Also to keep your management, technical, leadership, and strategic skills updated, then at least 18 PDUs must be education-based. Through paid volunteer work, you can earn up to 12 PDUs.

There is a renewal fee for the PMI-ACP Certification update. For PMI members, it costs about $60, and for a non-PMI-member, it costs about $150.

If the certification is not renewed before the due date ( 3 years from the date of the exam), the certification gets suspended for one year. You will have to reapply if you do not meet the standards of the given time.

Benefits of PMI-ACP Certification

Get to know the benefits of PMI-ACP Certification:

• Recognition of Skill: A certified PMI-ACP gets recognized for his skills.
• Job Scope: PMI-ACP Certification widens your job scope.
• Demand: There is a huge demand in the job market for a PMI-ACP certification.
• Variety of Roles: Apart from being an expert in agile practice, you can also become a Scrum Master, Agile Trainer, and also Agile Project Manager.
• Salary Increment: The average salary of a scrum master is $122554, for a PMI-ACP certification holder, there is at least 20% higher salary when compared to non-certified.
• Professional Growth: PMI-ACP Certification demonstrates professional versatility. The knowledge gained in using Agile tools and techniques enhances career growth.
• Boosting the resume: The PMI-ACP Certification adds weight to your resume and increases career opportunities. It shall open the doors for several job prospects.
• Benefits the Company: As more and more companies are adopting Agile methodologies, PMI-ACP Certification discovers several management techniques, which improve team performance and benefit the company ultimately.
• Broader-Wider Scope: PMI-ACP Certification is not just limited to single Agile practice, but there are several others like Scrum, XP, kanban, etc. Through the certification, the professionals get to showcase their hands-on working experience.

While the outcomes and benefits for a PMI-ACP Certification holder are vast. But the process to complete the certification is a long but achievable goal. Proper planning would result in achieving good results. Hope the guide PMI-ACP Certification 2023: Everything you need to know helped you for becoming a certified PMI-ACP Practitioner. PMI-ACP Certification from Gold Standard Certification will help you explore the potential within you and keeps you moving forward in your professional life.